Prior the presentation of the 2019 appropriation bill, many issues were on ground that was capable of delaying the presentation to the joint session of the National Assembly. And the issues project further setbacks the bill will suffer upon its presentation, passage and implementation. Though the president may mean well for the nation, the budget may not alleviate the pitiable conditions of the people. Simply put, it may end up being hopeless as the Senate president Bukola Saraki boastfully said shortly after the presentation which many moralists have considered embarrassing to the country.
The president might really want to use the budget as another avenue to transform Nigeria; many events that preceded and succeeded the rancorous presentation are enough reasons to doubt the assurance from the president. The Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigerian (PASAN) has had a running battle with the management of the National Assembly, cutting off water and power supply to the assembly complex and paralysing other activities in the NASS complex. Though the association honoured the president, their activities caused jilters in many spines.
The presidency and legislative arm have been at loggerheads since the inception of the current regime. The leaderships of the two chambers of the assembly have not been in good terms with the presidency. And the two arms of the government have never made the enmity covert; they do take swipe on each other and work on two parallel lines though at the detriment of the masses who bear the brunt. Federal government agencies including the security personnel have treated the legislative arm collectively and some lawmakers individually with unprecedented disdain.
President Muhammadu Buhari could have geared up for the untoward things that happened on the floor of the assembly. While reading out some of his achievements on economy, some lawmakers began to boo him, calling him unprintable names. Condemning the actions of the lawmakers is not the aim of this piece but the implications of the actions on the budget. In Nigeria, personal feelings and relationship are transferred to issues affecting the country, hence, drawing the country back.
The noisy presentation and show of folly in all honesty also prelude the shackles on the 2019 budget. The matter could have been less serious and damaging if the two leaders of the two chambers were yet to have their camps “elsewhere”. They are members of the main opposition party and all their hands will be on desk to discredit the government.
Another impediment to the appropriation bill is the issue of non-implementation of the 2018 budget. The lawmakers have been accusing the executive of grossly inadequately implementing budgets. But the one that concerns them the most now is the failure or refusal of the presidency to release funds appropriated to the federal parliament in the 2018 budget.
The 2018 budget was approved in May, 2018 six months after its presentation. There was no general election then. 2019 general elections are near; the lawmakers who have secured tickets will be busy scheming and tactically delaying the approval and adoption of the bill. Therefore, the bill is fettered.
Timothy Faboade,
Ondo State.
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